Modern Ti99 storage solutions?

[polyex]

Anyone have a suggestion for Ti99 storage solutions other than tape? I have a Ti99, but no way other than tape to store stuff on. I do have a PEB but no disk controller, and I understand the NanoPEB and CF7+ are no longer for sale. I do keep an eye out for a disk controller (I have a Lotharek compact flash drive, so perhaps I could use that). I have not really seen disk controllers come up often other than an odd one in a PEB for a fortune. Any suggestions?Are Ti99 users currently stuck when it comes to modern storage?

[RickyDean]

Anyone have a suggestion for Ti99 storage solutions other than tape? I have a Ti99, but no way other than tape to store stuff on. I do have a PEB but no disk controller, and I understand the NanoPEB and CF7+ are no longer for sale. I do keep an eye out for a disk controller (I have a Lotharek compact flash drive, so perhaps I could use that). I have not really seen disk controllers come up often other than an odd one in a PEB for a fortune. Any suggestions?Are Ti99 users currently stuck when it comes to modern storage?

I have a couple of TI Disk controllers that I can sell, could sell one to you if desired PM me. It could be upgraded to the 80 track mod listed here http://atariage.com/forums/topic/221856-about-the-80-track-update-for-the-ti-fdc/

[iKarith]

I think the real trick at some point is going to involve understanding how the IDE interface was done and implementing that with SDHC and a microcontroller. Ideally I think it'd be desirable for the result to look like a CF7+, and I don't yet know enough about how necessary/desirable that is.

[RXB]

Well if we have a standard USB port for the TI then we could plug any kinds of adaptors into it like I have USB to IDE drive.

Also have a USB to SATA adaptor with all size of SD cards on it and IDE ports and EATA and SATA ports on it.

Not to mention additional USB ports on it, and bought it for $59 from Amazon.

[+arcadeshopper]

Well if we have a standard USB port for the TI then we could plug any kinds of adaptors into it like I have USB to IDE drive.

Also have a USB to SATA adaptor with all size of SD cards on it and IDE ports and EATA and SATA ports on it.

Not to mention additional USB ports on it, and bought it for $59 from Amazon.

 

We have one.. it has no DSR to support those oodles of devices, each one of them has a driver that is loaded on a PC which wont be compatible with the TI. This is a dead horse.

 

The ONLY way to make this work is to put a PC between the usb device and the TI and access the resources through a method devised as a DSR on the TI.. for instance HDX can access those devices for storage using a pc, serial cable and a hdx dsr rs232 OR cfhdxs1 which has a software dsr.. This has less interest now that we have no cheap rs232 cards available (nano) that add 32k to a 4/a easily.

 

Imho the thing we need right now is a sidecar AMS with a TI compatible RS232 card with the hdx dsr.. A disk controller with cf support would be nice too but I can live without that.

 

Greg

[Omega-TI]

 

Imho the thing we need right now is a sidecar AMS with a TI compatible RS232 card with the hdx dsr..

 

Greg

 

Interesting. I can see that selling a few units, especially if some sort of enclosure was included. Without at least a "DSK1." alternative or an alteration of the DSR, there would be some things that would not work though, the biggest would be the Extended BASIC auto-load feature.

 

I'm still waiting for that Email from Jim, telling me my SAMS is ready, and to send him some money.

[+arcadeshopper]

 

Interesting. I can see that selling a few units, especially if some sort of enclosure was included. Without at least a "DSK1." alternative or an alteration of the DSR, there would be some things that would not work though, the biggest would be the Extended BASIC auto-load feature.

 

I'm still waiting for that Email from Jim, telling me my SAMS is ready, and to send him some money.

 

[+arcadeshopper]

 

Interesting. I can see that selling a few units, especially if some sort of enclosure was included. Without at least a "DSK1." alternative or an alteration of the DSR, there would be some things that would not work though, the biggest would be the Extended BASIC auto-load feature.

 

I'm still waiting for that Email from Jim, telling me my SAMS is ready, and to send him some money.

 

Yeah, well a nice mini pbox with 3 cards .. sams, rs232 with hdx, ds/dd disk controller.. that would do

 

Greg

[atrax27407]

There are several plans around for a 3-slot PEB.

[RickyDean]

 

Yeah, well a nice mini pbox with 3 cards .. sams, rs232 with hdx, ds/dd disk controller.. that would do

 

Greg

Sounds like a Corcomp 9900 micro-expansion system on steroids.

[+arcadeshopper]

There are several plans around for a 3-slot PEB.

gerbers?

[atrax27407]

No Gerbers but there are good schematics - one in the Hunter Valley Newsletter and at least one other 3-slot P-Box that I know about.

[+Ksarul]

There's another nice one in an issue of the Brisbane TIBUG Newsletter.

[RXB]

 

We have one.. it has no DSR to support those oodles of devices, each one of them has a driver that is loaded on a PC which wont be compatible with the TI. This is a dead horse.

 

The ONLY way to make this work is to put a PC between the usb device and the TI and access the resources through a method devised as a DSR on the TI.. for instance HDX can access those devices for storage using a pc, serial cable and a hdx dsr rs232 OR cfhdxs1 which has a software dsr.. This has less interest now that we have no cheap rs232 cards available (nano) that add 32k to a 4/a easily.

 

Imho the thing we need right now is a sidecar AMS with a TI compatible RS232 card with the hdx dsr.. A disk controller with cf support would be nice too but I can live without that.

 

Greg

If it had a DSR that could use SCSI or Hard Drive formats.

We could break up the USB device into 640 meg chunks and have like a USB thumb drive behave like multiple Hard Drives.

 

Use the Mac or PC side to make folders with names like FLD1. FLD2. FLD3 ect.....

Edited May 12, 2016 by RXB

[+Schmitzi]

I found this

 

[+acadiel]

I think the real trick at some point is going to involve understanding how the IDE interface was done and implementing that with SDHC and a microcontroller. Ideally I think it'd be desirable for the result to look like a CF7+, and I don't yet know enough about how necessary/desirable that is.

 

I think that something like the NanoPEB might be OK... but we can do better. Say, a microcontroller that can read FAT32 SD cards, so that you can drag and drop PC99 or V9T9 disk images on the SD card on a PC and then put it right back on the TI. No HxC utility program to convert stuff to/from HFE files. No floppy controller needed for said HxC. No TI99DIR program needed to access the CF7/NanoPEB storage.

 

Throw in 32K and a serial or parallel port (or both), and we'd be good.

 

Ralph's cartridge based microcontroller is a good start... it can read/write FAT/32 SD cards and provides them to >6000, and can bank switch. We'd just have to interface that with a DSR now (in >4000 on the side), likely a larger microcontrolller (to handle more address lines), and we could then make it act as an actual disk.

[iKarith]

FWIW, if there were either a DSR written for USB storage or more likely to talk to a program running on a microcontroller that knew how to operate with USB-storage and presented something more compatible to the TI, that could be an option. I think USB storage is probably bigger than the TI really has space for given that 32k expansions are a big deal on the machine.

 

But SD cards can be accessed over SPI and read like a big memory device. Much easier to accomplish that one, I think.

[lucien2]

...Say, a microcontroller that can read FAT32 SD cards, so that you can drag and drop PC99 or V9T9 disk images on the SD card on a PC and then put it right back on the TI.

Or even better: a "WDS1"-like DSR that read and write single TIFILES on the SD and uses directories, with the option of a "DSK1" directory, for backward compatibility.

That would remove the extra step of creating DSK images.

[Arnuphis]

On the subject of TI floppy drives, what type of cable is needed to attach 2 drives internally on the PEB? Is it straight through or does it have a twist for ID selection like IDE drives? Are the drive IDs set on the drives?

 

Getting ready to attach extra drives and wanted to make sure I have everything I need.

[+acadiel]

On the subject of TI floppy drives, what type of cable is needed to attach 2 drives internally on the PEB? Is it straight through or does it have a twist for ID selection like IDE drives? Are the drive IDs set on the drives?

 

Getting ready to attach extra drives and wanted to make sure I have everything I need.

Straight through. Ds0 and Ds1 need to be set on the 5 1/4 drives. If you use a 3.5, no twisted cable, and you will likely have to remove the DS1 jumper and move it to DS0 if you want to use a 3.5 as DSK1.

[RickyDean]

Straight through. Ds0 and Ds1 need to be set on the 5 1/4 drives. If you use a 3.5, no twisted cable, and you will likely have to remove the DS1 jumper and move it to DS0 if you want to use a 3.5 as DSK1.

And some 3.5 drives have switches instead of jumpers. Some also do not have the ability to change settings, so must be used as drive two.

[+acadiel]

And some 3.5 drives have switches instead of jumpers. Some also do not have the ability to change settings, so must be used as drive two.

Yep, you have to find the DS1 jumper and unsolder it and solder it to DS0 if the drive doesn't have physical jumpers.

 

[RickyDean]

Yep, you have to find the DS1 jumper and unsolder it and solder it to DS0 if the drive doesn't have physical jumpers.

Yes, I should have said "Some also do not have the ability to change settings easily".

[Arnuphis]

Thanks for the info. I assume Lotharek's SD card floppy has jumpers to set it's ID?

[Omega-TI]

Thanks for the info. I assume Lotharek's SD card floppy has jumpers to set it's ID?

 

Yes. You can even set it to work as two separate drives... at the same time!

 

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